Man Behind the Mask

Thursday went as normal, and so did Friday. TK offered to carpool with Vivienne and was coming at about 7 to take her to Jordan’s. She had just over an hour to shower and get into her costume, which was perfectly enough time.

Vivienne only had to wait a few minutes after she was in costume for TK to show up. She opened the door to find her friend in a toga. “Wow. Viv you look great. You could be Catwoman for me any day,” he winked.

“Thanks. But I think our worlds are way to separate. You’re all the way from ancient….Greece? Rome?”

“I’m Caesar. I can have whatever I want.”

Vivienne just laughed and shook her head. “I have to put my shoes on. Come in.” She grabbed them and sat on the couch with TK following suit. “So, which Caesar are you?”

“Huh?”

“You know. Julius? Augustus? Nero?”

“Uh…Julius I guess. I thought he was the only one. Learn something new everyday. Damn. Those are high!” he exclaimed, motioning to her boots. [a/n: as I wrote “damn” all I could think of is the way my friend at work does. Wish you knew what that sounded like.]

“I’m a little short to be Catwoman. Gotta appear as tall as I can. And hide the left over length of costume,” she giggled.

They got up and left for the party. After the beer pong game, TK and Vivienne strived to get rid of the awkwardness. Their friendship was stable now, so the ride wasn’t uneasy. “You know, if anyone makes any comments or goes too far tonight when they hit on you, Marc-Andre, Kris, and I will rough them up.”

“Do I look too sexy? Monica said this was a perfect costume because I didn’t want to show off too much skin, but now I feel a little uncomfortable…”

“Well, it certainly is sexy. You need to remember, we are hockey players. Even if you wore grandma’s footie pajamas, someone would comment. But hey. Its not a bad thing to get complimented. None of these guys would do anything to hurt you. Like I said, anyone goes to far, we are here for you.”

“Thanks.” They soon showed up. TK parked the car as close to the house as he could so Vivienne wouldn’t have to walk so far in her shoes. They got to the end of the walk and she turned to him. With a deep breath, she uttered, “Let’s do this.”

Jordan, wearing his oldest brother’s jersey, answered the door as soon as TK knocked. “Meeeooow! Look at you!”

“You better watch yourself. Kitty has claws.”

“I like it. You’re more than welcome to curl up on my bed tonight,” he joked.

“Enough of that, its getting creepy.” TK stopped it before it went farther.

Jordan gave his friend the up and down. “Please tell me you are wearing pants under that.” TK nodded. “Good.” Jordan led them inside. The living room and kitchen were pretty packed. It was still early so most people didn’t arrive yet. It was mostly single people and younger couples. Vivienne figured most people were waiting for babysitters and what not.

Eventually the party was bumping. Vivienne lost TK a while ago, but bounced between other people until Monica and Alvin showed up. She hung with them mostly, though she made a lot of conversation when others joined in their circle. There were a lot of cat jokes, but no one really crossed any lines. Vivienne could see TK in the corner of the room occasionally, obviously checking up on her. It was nice that he took such a protective role. She really began to feel like she belonged among these men; she didn’t feel like she was there out of pity or charity by them. They actually liked her.

As she was grabbing a drink from the kitchen, Vivienne felt a tap on the shoulder. It took her a moment to see who it was through their costume make up. “Hey Eric.” The man who’s jersey bears the number twenty six smiled, making his costume look all the better.

“Hey. Would you look at that? We are both Batman villains.” The girl gave him a friendly smile. “Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something…”

She waited for his reply until a boisterous French accent yelled over to them. “Stop right there!” In a moments time, Marc-Andre, wearing a Batman mask, a cape, and a t-shirt with the Batman logo. “Look what we have here. Two of my enemies all alone and being friendly,” he insinuated a lot more than what was actually happening. “Isn’t this cute?”

“Catwoman and the Joker don’t get together. He has Harley Quinn. Batman and Catwoman do though, at least in the Tim Burton movie,” Vivienne rambled off movie facts.

“Looks like you guys make a better couple then.”

Eric looked a little down. Quickly, Marc-Andre added, “I don’t think Vero would like that. Even though your costume looks great, I value my relationship too much to take any risks,” he said thinking about his fiancée. “Though I don’t even know anymore. I tried to get her to be Batgirl or whatever, but she wanted to be some Jersey Shore person. I don’t even know who she is dressed up as…She used to like doing things with me, but recently it seems like she just wants space. A lot of it…,” he trailed off. “Anyway, I’m gonna get going. If you hear any screaming, don’t worry. Its all part of my plan,” Marc-Andre left the kitchen leaving Eric and Vivienne confused, worried, and awkward.

“So…,” Vivienne started, “what were you going to say until Batman came and interrupted?”

“No, it doesn’t matter.”

Vivienne frowned. “Yes it does. What was it?”

There was a moment of hesitation before he decided to talk. “I sent you the fruit basket. I thought it could be a bridge between us. I know we haven’t talked too much, but I’d really like to get to know you. Damn it. I sound like a high school kid.”

“No, its cute. Not stupid cute. Hopeless romantic cute. You’re out on the ice playing a very manly game almost 200 nights a year. Your life is the epitome of what it is to be masculine. You train hard, you play hard, you talk hard…Its nice to see another side. Even if its farther from who you want to portray yourself as, a bit of softness can be a great thing. I like it. A lot.” She stopped for a moment. “I love the fruit basket, by the way. You should come over and help me eat it.” Vivienne tried to make this less awkward for him. “If you want, it can be a date. You’re a nice guy, I’m a nice girl. Yenta would say it’s a good match. We can stay in, watch movies, and talk. Its more comfortable than a stiff ‘getting to know you’ dinner.”

“You’ll really go on a date with me?”

“Why is that so shocking?”

“Well, everyone thinks…never mind.”

Vivienne raised her eyebrow, but answered with an okay. “Just call me some time next week. I’ll be free whenever you are.” She turned to leave the room but stopped. Not facing him, she asked, “Oh. I almost forgot. You didn’t ask Monica what I was going to be tonight, did you?”

“No. Why?”

She shook her head and left.